A Survey of General and Special Education Teachers' Perceptions and Inservice Needs Concerning Inclusion

TLDR

The U.S. government requires each state to develop a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development to improve services for students with disabilities. This article reports a state‑wide needs assessment by a Department of Education to tailor its personnel development system. The assessment examined teachers’ perceptions of their ability to positively affect students, understanding of inclusion, self‑efficacy, training needs, and support availability for both general and special education teachers.

Abstract

To improve educational services to students with disabilities, the United States government has mandated that each state develop a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development. The following article highlights the results of a state-wide needs assessment conducted by one state's Department of Education in order to tailor their system of personnel development. Four percent of the state's general educators, and 6% of the state's special education teachers completed the surveys for a total of 289 surveys. Perceptions of ability to positively affect students, understanding of inclusion, self-efficacy in serving students in inclusive settings, the need for inservice training in various areas, and the availability of supports to promote inclusion were examined for both special and general education teachers. In every area assessed, special education teachers rated their efficacy, ability, understanding, and resources higher than general education teachers. These results are discussed in terms of meeting professional development needs for both groups of teachers.